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The Thiruvananthapuram Fast Track Special Court Special Judge, Anju Meera Birla, has sentenced Manu M., a 40-year-old cricket coach, to 35 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹66,000 on him for sexually assaulting a female student.
He will have to undergo an additional imprisonment of six years and nine months if he defaults on the fine payment. While the verdict pertains to the second sexual abuse case registered against him, the court also found the coach guilty in a third case under similar circumstances. The sentence in the case will be pronounced on Saturday (June 27, 2026).
Six cases were registered against the accused in all. The trials for four of the cases have been completed.
The judgment states that the sentence for the second case will commence only after the completion of the prison term in the first case.
The prosecution, led by special public prosecutor R.S. Vijay Mohan, argued under Section 427 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) that the sentences for each case should run consecutively, after the expiration of the preceding term. The court took the argument into consideration while delivering the sentencing order.
According to the prosecution, the survivor in the second case had been attending a cricket coaching centre in Thiruvananthapuram since 2018. The accused sexually abused her under the pretext of training. The case was investigated by the Cantonment police.
Published – June 25, 2026 07:47 pm IST
